1. Field of Invention
This invention relates generally to recompressed bales of previously compressed fungible materials, and more particularly to trimming one or both opposed surfaces of such a hay bale or bale portion that do not have supporting ties.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Loose field produced hay is a massive, low value, low density product that generally is compressed in bales to make it economically viable for storage, transport and handling, as well as to aid its preservation, to maintain its nutrative value and to provide an aesthetically pleasing appearance to both consuming animals and buyers. The compression process and the product produced by it in their historical evolutionary courses have taken many and various forms to meet the requirements of particularized uses ranging from relatively small pelletized product that is of no more than one inch in any dimension and has no external fastening structures to massive bales weighing one ton or more with a plurality of external configuration maintaining fasteners. One common form that hay bales have taken is that of a parallelepiped with generally two to four ties extending about two ends and the top and bottom. This type of bale is common in Western hay farming and is predominately used as the basis for a product for international export. This type of bale for convenience of reference will be referred to as a "Western field bale".
Such bales are commonly initially formed by similar baler apparatus and processes that accumulate cured cut hay in a generally horizontally oriented, elongate chamber with two vertical side edges. The cut hay is placed in this chamber with its stems more or less horizontally oriented and extending somewhat perpendicularly between the vertical sides so that the sides include many stem ends and bent and broken stem portions. When hay has been accumulated in a sufficient mass in the baler chamber, it is compressed by pressure applied between the vertical ends and parallel to the sides. Two to four ties are placed about the compressed bale extending between the ends and over the top and bottom inwardly adjacent each vertical side. This type of bale has become reasonably standardized in two sizes, a first of approximately 48.times.18.times.16 inch dimension with two spaced ties extending about the first two dimensioned surfaces and a second of approximately 48.times.23.times.16 inches with three or four spaced ties extending about the same surfaces. The first bale has a weight usually ranging between approximately 80 to 100 pounds and the second between 100 to 130 pound, depending on the type of hay material and its moisture content.
Such hay bales tend to be too bulky for economical transport in international commerce, and they are therefore commonly recompressed. Recompression is carried out in a chamber having substantially the same cross-sectional configuration as that of the original field bale and pressure is again applied between the ends of the bale to compress the original forty-eight inch dimension to an ultimate dimension of approximately fourteen to twenty-two inches. During the recompression process, the original bale ties are removed and new ties established to maintain the configuration of the recompressed bale. The new ties are normally three or four in number and extend about the same bale surfaces as the original ties, all spacedly adjacent each other and inward of each bale vertical side. It is with this type of recompressed Western field bale that my invention is concerned.
Such recompressed bales have vertical sides which do not support ties that are quite rough and irregular, with outer portions which are substantially less dense than the interior portion of the bale. These vertical sides also are generally of a different color and of less nutrative value for live stock by reason of their exposure to the elements and oxidation occurring during the normal bale curing and drying process and storage periods prior to recompression. This bale material immediately inwardly of the vertical sides of a recompressed bale is of lesser economic value, of lower density than the rest of the bale, and tends to cause voids in a stacked mass of bales, either by itself or in combination with similar surfaces of other adjacent bales. My invention solves these problems by trimming at least one vertical side surface of such recompressed bales.
It has become common in dealing with such recompressed bales, especially in the Japanese export trade, to split such bales into two similar halves, parallel to the side edges not supporting ties and between existing ties. The slitting normally is accomplished after recompression by a knife and the bales normally are fastened with four ties so that each half portion will have two ties for configurational maintenance. This type of slit bale will normally have only one rough surface requiring trimmings.
If approximately one-half inch of the original vertical side surface of recompressed bales is removed, the then existing surface is of substantially the same density as the remaining portion of the bale and that surface will be of a green color characteristic of unbleached and unoxidized baled hay. The cut surface is substantially planar to allow the future stacking and storage of such bale for transport or otherwise without voids between adjacent bale surfaces, and since the new surface will be substantially adjacent some other bale surface, reconfiguration tends to substantially lessen further oxidative and bleaching activity.
The fresh colored, compact uniform surface created by the trimming operation has been found to create substantial appeal to buyers in the export market for such trimmed hay, especially in the Japanese trade. The trimming process provides an additional benefit in that the material removed from the bale may be recycled for use as feed in its original form or especially as enhanced by other animal nutrient materials.